The Shadow Demon
by ChunkyLover584
Summary: Naruto loses control and the Kyuubi must be transfered to someone else, who better than the lazy genius Shikamaru Nara? How will the fox affect the shadow user and how will this change the Naruto Universe? Shika/Tema. Strong Shika fic. On Hiatus.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hey people, Mr Chunk here with another story for your consideration. This is, as far as I know, completely unlike anything that has been done before, and I hope that you enjoy it. This is a Super Shikamaru fic, and will probably involve a three-way relationship in a few chapters time. Main pairing will be Shika/Ino/Tema, with Naru/Hina in the background. May contain lemons later on if I get appropriate inspiration (some Jaraiya style research may be necessary). Anyway, here we go, enjoy.

The Shadow Demon.

Naruto Uzumaki was usually a pretty carefree kid, especially for a ninja. But there are a few things that would push him over the edge. Insulting his favourite food, ramen, was one. Threatening his village was another. But the most damning thing that anyone could do where this blonde headed gennin was concerned, was intentionally hurt one of his friends. Doing this would, more often than not, result in him yelling and promising revenge. In this particular case, that is not what happened.

Uzumaki, along with the rest of Konoha's newest gennin were watching and participating in the chuunin exam's preliminary to the third exam.

Naruto, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Shino and the three Suna siblings had already passed. That left only Chouji, Hinata, Neji and the last sound nin.

Everyone seemed shocked when the match came up Hinata vs Neji, though Naruto didn't know why. That was at least until he overheard someone mention that they were cousins. Whilst he couldn't fully relate to the concept of family, since he'd never really had one, he understood enough to tell that this would be tough for a gentle soul like Hinata, who never wanted to hurt anyone, least of all a family member.

Her cousin Neji, however, didn't seen to have that problem. He slaughtered the younger Hyuuga. There was no fighting back. No defense. And no chance for the poor outmatched girl.

This much was apparent to everyone except the proctor apparently, because he decided to let the assault continue, even after the girl had could barely stand and was coughing up blood.

Naruto could feel his clone boiling at the sight of sweet, little Hinata being murdered before his eyes. And worst of all, it looked as though everyone else was just going to stand idly by and watch. He felt the familiar burning sensation as the fox's chakra began to flood his system, but he was too far gone to care. He was so caught up in his rage that when he felt the added bloodlust that the demon chakra brought with it he latched onto it, reveling in it.

Finally he had seen more than he could take. Hinata had bravely struggled to her feet again and it looked like that long haired son of a bitch was going for the killing blow.

Before anyone else could move to intercept the strike, there was a bright flash of red light. The next thing everyone saw was Neji, embedded in a huge crater in the arena wall. Standing with his arm outstretched like he had thrown a punch was Naruto, 20 feet away, where the Hyuuga _had_ been standing.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata stuttered weakly before she collapsed, being caught by her sensei. But Naruto didn't hear her, or the cries to stop when he dove towards Neji, who had yet to move since hitting the wall.

Mercilessly, Naruto, who was now shrouded in red chakra in the form of a two tailed fox, began to pound the Hyuuga prodigy further into the wall, shattering bones and tearing at flesh with his now claw-like nails.

Gai leapt forward in an attempt to save another of his students from a career ending injury, but was swatted away like a fly by the one of the chakra tails.

Kakashi, having just returned from sealing Sasuke, tried to talk some sense into his previously ignored student, but was no more effective than Gai, as his words were drowned out by the feral roars and pained screams of the demonized blonde and his victim.

Suddenly, a figure with long white hair appeared and wrenched the container off the other boy, tossing him into the opposite wall, where he made a crater of his own. Before anyone could react, or recover in Naruto's case, the white haired man appeared before him doing hand signs. Seconds later, after dozens of signs the man's hand started to glow and he slammed it into the boy's stomach.

The blonde's demonic voice cried out in pain and shook the entire building, shattering all the windows. Slowly, the red glow surrounding him receded, leaving an unconscious, but otherwise normal Naruto falling limply into the man's waiting arms.

As soon as it was clear that the danger was gone, medics ran in to collect the two battered Hyuuga and the Hokage moved over to where Naruto was now laid out on the floor, with the white haired man looking intently at his stomach.

"What happened Jaraiya? He's never lost control like that before." Sarutobi asked with concern and worry written across his face.

Jaraiya finished his examination and sat back, looking at his former sensei. "Someone has tampered with the seal and it looks like it has been weakened significantly. It looks like we can expect a similar reaction whenever the kid loses his cool, and if he's as much of a hot head as you said he is, that could be quite regularly."

The Hokage nodded solemnly. "Ok. We'll figure out what to do later. Take him to my office, I'll meet you there once I'm done here." Jaraiya nodded and quickly Shunshined away with the boy.

The old Hokage sighed wearily before turning to the stunned crowd that stood before him. "That matter has been dealt with and is no longer any of your concern, is that clear?" he asked in a tone that made it very clear that he was not to be questioned. After receiving reluctant nods from those present he continued. "Now final judgments regarding the actions of Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuuga shall be made later. For now, everyone but Chouji from Konoha and Dosu from Oto clear the floor so that we can hold the final match." slowly everyone made their way to their designated areas, but no one was focusing on the final match, even Chouji, so he was defeated with a single blow from the sound nin, thereby ending the preliminary round of the chuunin exam.

* * *

It was about half an hour after the Naruto incident, that Hiruzen Sarutobi finally made it to his office, to find Naruto still unconscious on the lounge and his student sitting at the desk looking through a pile of folders.

"The rookie 12 files?" he asked rhetorically.

Jaraiya nodded. "With how damaged Minato's seal is, we have no choice but to extract the Kyuubi and put it into someone else, and since it has to be someone of roughly the same age these 11 are the only candidates."

The Hokage sighed, truly feeling his age for the first time since the Kyuubi attack 13 years prior. "You're sure that we can't just repair the Yondaime's seal?" the old man asked with a sliver of hope in his voice, which was quickly dispatched when Jaraiya shook his head.

"It's too complex for me to experiment with and Minato only left instructions on how to do the transfer, not repairs."

The Hokage nodded weakly. "Ok. Any candidates so far?"

"Well, the Yamanaka and Haruno are out because they are c grade gennin at best and have even worse emotional control than the gaki. Same goes for the Inuzuka. The Uchiha is out, and frankly should be taken off duty, because he is clearly a psychopath and that combined with the curse seal is just asking for trouble. The Hyuuga girl is too timid to stand up to the fox, and may not live after that fight anyway. The same goes for Gai's mini me, though without chakra of his own, the fox would eat him alive." Jaraiya explained.

"You can also rule out Shino Aburame, since the fox's chakra would poison his hive and kill him. That leaves Chouji, Shikamaru and Tenten." Sarutobi added.

"Of those I think the best is the Nara. He's got excellent emotional control, is easily smart enough to avoid being manipulated, and his families techniques would benefit hugely from the extra chakra, since that was always their weakness."

Hiruzen nodded in agreement, "That's true. Plus his family would be the best for containing him, should he ever lose control as Naruto did. Let's just hope we can get him and his clan to agree to the transfer." he said grimly as he sent an ANBU to collect Shikamaru and his father, the clan head.

* * *

Less than five minutes after the summons had been sent, Shikaku and Shikamaru Nara were standing patiently outside the Hokage's office. Once they received permission to do so, they entered the room, both wondering why, though one had more idea than the other.

"Ah, Shikaku, Shikamaru, thank you for coming, take a seat." the Hokage greeted, pointing them to the two vacant chairs in front of his desk, the other containing the legendary toad sage.

"Of course Hokage-sama. Though if you don't mind me asking, why are my son and I here, the messenger would not say." Shikaku asked politely as he and his son sat down, both sparing a glance for the white haired man and the passed out blonde on the couch to the side.

"I assume this is to do with the Kyuubi's little outburst during the matches?" Shikamaru said calmly, shocking the adults, though none of them showed it.

"That's correct. Though how did you know about the Kyuubi, it was supposed to be a secret." Jaraiya said, throwing a suspicious glance at the older Nara.

"Troublesome. I figured it out myself. Naruto had always been treated like crap by the villagers and most of the parents but no one ever said why. Then one day in class Iruka-sensei was going over what happened with the Kyuubi, but when it got to how the fourth killed it he couldn't say. I figured since the fourth was the only one who could have beaten it and he was a only seal master, he must have sealed it in something. Put that with Naruto's birthday and what happened today and it's not that hard to figure out." After he had finished the adults were all smiling at the boy's impressive deductive abilities.

"Yes Shikamaru that's all true. And the reason no one ever told you is because I had a law put in place where no one from the older generation was allowed to tell anyone who didn't know under penalty of death. As you have seen however, things didn't really go as I had planned." Sarutobi said sadly.

"That still doesn't explain why we are here Hokage-sama." said Shikaku.

"Well as Shikamaru saw at the preliminary matches, Naruto's seal has been weakened, which means that now, if he were to become emotional the Kyuubi is able to take some measure of control. And we believe that unless something is done, the seal will continue to degenerate till finally Kyuubi is given complete control, permanently." Jaraiya explained gravely.

"Can't you just fix the seal?" Shikaku asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not. Due to how complex it is, the only way to ensure that the Kyuubi does not gain control is to extract it and seal it into someone else."

"And I'm the best candidate. This is a whole new level of troublesome." Shikamaru said dryly, shocking Shikaku, who hadn't gotten that far yet.

"Isn't there someone else?" he asked desperately.

"There are, but I'm the best candidate. I've got better chakra control than most of the guys and am more stable than all of the girls. Plus our techniques will benefit most from the chakra boost I'll get as a container. Ok, I'll do it." the lazy shadow user drawled.

"Wait Shika-" his father started but was interrupted by his son.

"Come on dad. It only makes sense. I'm the best choice." his father deflated but nodded his head reluctantly.

"I do however have a few conditions." Shikamaru said seriously, surprising everyone else.

"And what would they be?" the Hokage asked suspiciously.

"First, you have to tell everyone that Naruto somehow killed the Kyuubi and it will never return. That way he'll be treated like the hero he has always been and I won't have to put up with the same crap he had to."

"Agreed. Though I can't guarantee they'll buy it." Sarutobi said with a sigh.

"That'll do. Next, I want you," he pointed to Jaraiya, "to train Naruto personally since he is going to be weakened without the fox in him."

Jaraiya looked shocked. "Why me, he's already got Kakashi and he's one of the best we've got."

"Firstly, Kakashi might be one of our best ninjas but he is a terrible sensei. By the way they performed in the exams so far, he hasn't taught Sakura or Naruto anything. I'd bet he's spent all his time with the jackass Uchiha. Secondly, it's only fitting that you train him since you taught his father, the Yondaime." he saw them begin to object but he cut them off, "and before you deny it, don't bother. He looks just like the Yondaime and a hokage would never seal a demon into someone else's child, he'd use his own." Jaraiya and Hiruzen nodded with shame and sadness written on their faces.

"Third, I want the truth of Naruto's parentage and history told to everyone, after he's been told of course, as this will help with that troublesome dream of his." both men nodded, smiling at the mention of his dream.

"Anything else?" Jaraiya asked.

The boy paused in thought. "Not that I can think of at the moment, though I reserve the right to name any more I come up with until the operation, agreed?"

"Very well, I agree to your conditions. We'll do the transfer by the end of the week, I'll send for you when we're ready." The Hokage said as he led them out.

When they were gone he turned to Jaraiya. "What do you think?"

The younger man chuckled and walked over to Naruto's sleeping form. "Definitely some interesting kids you've got here. One has been alone all his life and endured hell, yet turned out to have the makings of a great ninja. And another who has a chance to ask for anything in the world in exchange for his life, but only asks for things to help someone else."

Hiruzen smiled warmly. "These two will be ones to watch in the future, that's for sure. For now though, I need you to go track down your old teammate, we'll need her for the transfer."

"You realise she won't come easily, right?"

"I don't care. I've been lenient with her for long enough. If she won't come willingly, use force. Either way, she will come back." the Hokage said with seriousness that his student hadn't heard in years.

"Ok sensei." he said as he turned to leave.

"And take Naruto with you. It'll be a good chance to start his training."

Jaraiya just nodded as he leapt out the window and disappeared.

"Off to do 'research' I'll bet." Sarutobi chuckled to himself, then turned when he heard Naruto stirring.

"Sit up Naruto, we've got a lot to talk about." he said seriously as the boy finally woke up.

Chapter End

A/N: I know this chapter is really short, but that was the right place to put the break, so that's where I put it. Second chapter will be up in a moment, till, then, let me know what you think.

Mr Chunk


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Here is chapter 2. The transfer is performed and Shika has run ins with his new tenant and another demon carrier, whatever will happen? Read to find out.

P.S. I know that intro is really cheesy, but I'm more than a little intoxicated at the moment, so you're just gonna have to deal with it. Enjoy.

The Shadow Demon 2

The next week could almost be described as the best of Shikamaru Nara's young life. Why you ask? Simple. In order to ensure he would be ready for the upcoming transfer, the hokage had given him the week off. A whole week, free from all the troublesome activities that seemed to define his life recently. No training. No team meetings with bossy, screeching teammates. It would have, could have, should have, been heaven, but alas it was not to be.

Apparently, the real reason that he was given the week off, was so that his father could torture him by making him study everything that he thought might be useful to the soon to be jinchuruki. Namely dozens of books and scrolls on everything, from the legends of the bijuu, to how to maintain a balanced diet.

Needless to say much of it turned out to be totally irrelevant, but he continued to study, mostly because his father had threatened to tell his mother about the transfer, which would result in a situation so troublesome it made him shudder just thinking about it.

He did however, manage to come across some interesting pieces of information, mostly from the history of the bijuu and a scroll on the theory behind his family's techniques, both of which gave him ideas to try out after the procedure, assuming he is still alive and in control of his body.

* * *

It was 6 days after the original meeting when Shikamaru and his father found themselves called to the Hokage's office once more. They entered immediately as his secretary had been given the day off for secrecy's sake. When they entered, they found Naruto laying on the floor, nude, covered in an intricate markings and laying on another set in the shape of a circle. Crouching over him were Jaraiya and a large breasted blonde woman that seemed to be checking his vital signs, leading Shikamaru to presume she was a medic nin. Finally, the Hokage was standing a few feet away, leaning against his desk and looking on in interest and concern.

"We're here." Shikaku announced dumbly, his usually capable brain still not quite at full capacity since his son volunteered to be a container.

"Good. Strip off and lay in the middle of that array." Jaraiya ordered, stepping away from the blondes, apparently finished with that portion of the preparations.

Shikamaru nodded and removed his clothes, muttering a 'troublesome' before lying down as he was directed. Once he was situated, the white haired man proceeded to draw intricate seals over a large portion of his body that extended out from his stomach in a spiral. After a few minutes he stopped painting and nodded to the others in the room, signifying the preparations were complete.

"Any final conditions Shikamaru? You said you might have some more before we got started." the Hokage asked gently.

The young nin took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment, "Yeah I've got one last one. Immediately after the transfer is complete, I want to be placed in the most secure containment cell we've got and left in there for a week. And should I attempt to escape or leave at any time during that week I want to be killed immediately." everyone gasped in surprise.

"Why would you ask something like that?" his father screamed.

"Look, I've been doing my research and no one has ever completed a transfer with a seal this intricate before so nobody knows for sure what is going to happen. In the chance that the fox somehow able to gain control, I don't want anyone to be at risk. It's only logical that such a precaution be taken." he said calmly, leaving no room for argument.

"It shall be done, I'll have some of my best men guarding you just to be safe. Naruto, anything you want to say before we do this?" asked the Hokage.

"Yeah. Shika I just wanna say thanks for doing this man. I promise that after we get through with this, I will be there for you no matter what you need. And don't worry about the fox, I told him if he tries that taking control bull with you, I'll come into that seal and kick his furry ass." the blonde said determinately, earning chuckles from those present.

"Thanks Naruto. I'll be sure to give him hell for you." the lazy shadow user proclaimed happily.

"Ok let's do this thing. Now, this is probably gonna hurt like a bitch, but I need both of you to hold perfectly still or things might get complicated. Tsunade, I need you monitoring vitals at all times, especially Naruto, his system is gonna be shot once the fox is gone, so you're going to have to stabilise him." the toad said ordered seriously, getting nods from the boys and his teammate.

"Here we go." he said simply as he placed his hands on the array under Naruto and it began to glow bright red and move into the boy, who began to scream and tremble in agony as his entire body felt like it was on fire.

After what seemed like hours, the seals finally finished moving and settled around his existing one. After a brief pause, the glow started again and Naruto screamed even louder than before, as the new seals and the old one began to intertwine and then move as together as they passed off his body and onto the floor, being guided by Jaraiya's hands. As soon as the seals were off his body, Naruto's screams were silenced and the boy lay completely still. Tsunade instantly jumped into action, recognising the telltale signs of complete system failure as his breathing shallowed, then stopped entirely.

Whilst she was frantically working, Jaraiya had successfully navigated the glowing seals over to the Nara's array, which immediately started to glow brightly as the fox was absorbed into the new seal, destroying the old one. After a few minutes, during which the young Nara experienced what could only be described as pain in its purest form, the vast array of seals began to recede into his body until they finally lay dormant in an intricate spiral pattern on the boy's stomach.

Once the seals had stopped their migration, the sweaty and tired Jaraiya checked over the new seal and was satisfied that it had worked as they had planned.

"I've finally got the gaki stable, though he'll probably be in the hospital for a while as his body learns to heal without the fox's help. Other than that, he should be fine. The Nara boy looks to be ok and should be back on his feet in a few days." Tsunade sighed wearily as she collapsed into the nearby couch to rest.

"Good to know. Thank you for all your help Tsunade, Jaraiya. I'll arrange for ANBU to move Naruto to a private room in the hospital and Shikamaru to one of our chakra suppression cells. For now you three are dismissed." he said whilst looking over the two passed out boys lying on his office floor.

* * *

Shikamaru woke to find himself in a rather unexpected place. Instead of the holding cell or hospital room he had been anticipating, he found himself in a dense forest, similar to the one that surrounded his family's compound on the outskirts of Konoha.

Giving a brief mutter of 'troublesome', he pulled himself up and began to explore his new surroundings. After a while, he heard something that sounded distinctly like the calm breathing of a very large animal. Despite not generally being curious in nature, the young Nara couldn't help but follow the sounds till he got to a large clearing.

"Very troublesome." he muttered quietly as he gazed upon the resting form of a gigantic orange fox.

The huge creature let out a demonic chuckle as its massive, red eyes flickered open and landed on its new container.

"**So you are the new pathetic mortal that has been selected to replace the loudmouth jackass? I didn't think it was possible, but I think you might even be worse than that gaki. At least he gave of a good fight every now and then. From what I saw in the little bastard's memories you were even stupider and lazier than him. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now and take control of your pathetic human body."** the great fox sneered, baring its arm-length teeth threateningly.

Shikamaru sighed as if bored by the conversation. "Look, I have no interest in spending any more time in here than I have to, so I'm going to make this brief. I have a proposition for you." he said seriously.

The demon lord chuckled, amused by the boy's guts. "**And what exactly can you offer me, human?**" it asked, spitting the last word like an insult.

Shikamaru maintained his calm demeanor and stared lazily at the fox. "In exchange for certain terms, I am willing to improve the conditions of your containment."

The fox narrowed its eyes darkly and rose to its full height, towering over the still calm shinobi. "**And why would I not take such a thing and more once I gain control of your body?**"

Shikamaru raised his arm slowly then clenched his fist and suddenly the forest was replaced by a dank dungeon and dozens of chains leapt from the wall, wrapping themselves around the great fox and slamming it harshly into the ground, tightening around it to the point that the demon almost cried out in pain. Shikamaru calmly walked up to the head of the beast and looked into its eye. "Because unlike your previous container, I know how to manipulate things in here to make your existence into a living hell, or, should I choose," he then paused and the chains and dungeon vanished and were replaced with a lush forest with a peaceful lake scene. "I could make your time here quite enjoyable. Now, are you going to listen to my proposal or shall I bring back the dungeon."

The fox took a moment to take in his surroundings and almost smiled at the scene. It then looked back to its new container. "**Very well, kit. What is this proposal of yours?" **the fox said calmly.

"Firstly, you must promise on your honor as lord of the demons that, should you somehow become free or gain control of my body, you will not harm Konoha or its allies."

The fox paused for a moment before speaking. "**I will agree to that, if, you amend it so it is you and your allies. There are people within this village's walls that are far worse than I or any of my brethren and should the opportunity arise, I cannot promise that I will not seek vengeance for the wrongs they have committed against me."**

Shikamaru was surprised by this answer but did not show it. "Very well, I can agree to that. And perhaps we can deal with these people together, since they will likely have conflicting goals with my own. For now though, I agree to the amendment. Next, I want you to merge your chakra into mine as quickly as possible whilst still avoiding serious complications."

Kyuubi again paused for a moment before speaking. "**I agree to that, on the condition that, should an opportunity arise wherein you could attain my vengeance for me, you agree to do so.**"

"What would that entail, and what is the revenge for?" the Nara asked suspiciously.

Kyuubi sighed and seemed to be remembering something for a moment, "**The reason that I attacked this village 13 years ago was not just some random desire for destruction. I had been out hunting one day when I returned to my den to find my mate and young kits slaughtered. I tracked the killer's scent to your village and attacked, thinking that they were responsible. I still remember that man's stench to this day and should an opportunity ever arise, I want you to kill him for me."**

Shikamaru was silent for a moment as he considered all that he had heard. He knew that the fox wasn't lying, since it was an established fact that the lord of demons was unable to do so. However, without knowing the man's identity it would be troublesome to agree to such a condition. Having said that, his life would be a hell of a lot less troublesome with the fox's cooperation and this seemed to be a perfect way to get it. He sighed and looked back at the fox. "Deal. But the nature and timing of his death are up to me. I can't just walk up to him and do it in the middle of a crowd."

Kyuubi chuckled darkly "**Kit with what I suspect my chakra is going to do to your abilities, I don't think that would be a problem. Nevertheless I agree. What is your next condition?**"

"I want your presence in me to be completely hidden, even from bloodlines like the Byakugan. We plan to tell the village that you have been destroyed and it would be terribly troublesome for them to find out we lied the first time a Hyuuga looks at me with their bloodline active."

"**Done. It won't be hard, especially since I'll be merging my chakra with yours so even when you use it, it won't appear any different to your weak human chakra. Though, won't people notice the sudden increase in your abilities and healing? Since both will increase drastically as soon as I start the process."**

Shikamaru chuckled "Don't worry about it, as you said yourself, everyone sees me as the lazy good for nothing. I've never truly applied myself or been injured so both my abilities and healing are unknown variables. It won't be too difficult to convince everyone that I have always had such qualities, I just never showed them." he explained with a smirk.

Kyuubi chuckled again. "**Nice cover, kit. Anything else we need to talk about, your body has just about recovered from the transfer, so you should be able to wake up soon. When you do, I suggest working on your chakra control, it's going to be shot to hell since I've already more than tripled your reserves. Remember to work on it continuously too, since I'll always be adding more and more chakra into your system, so you'll need to constantly adapt to the change.**"

"Thanks for the tip. And I think that's it for conditions for now. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know. Tell me if there is anything that you want added to this place and I'll see what I can do."

Kyuubi nodded and returned the boy to the real world. Muttering "**Interesting human, that one.**" as he lay down and enjoyed the feel of the soft grass and gentle breeze after 13 years in a dank sewer. "**I should've made a deal like this years ago.**" the demon thought happily as it began to doze lightly.

* * *

The new jinchuruki woke to find himself in a holding cell. Absently it occurred to him that he didn't know how much time had passed and therefore, how long he still had left before he would be allowed to leave. Deciding that it would be best to know, he walked over to the doorway and looked through the small barred opening in it.

"Anybody there?" he drawled in his patented lazy tone.

"What do you want?" a voice Shikamaru assumed to be one of his ANBU guards answered gruffly.

"I was just wondering how long I've been in here." he said carefully, not sure if the guards were aware of his...circumstances.

"5 days so far. Now shut up. I'm not paid enough to listen to your crap." the same voice commanded. Shikamaru now seriously hoped that this guy thought he was a traitor or something and wasn't just this much of an ass to everyone.

The boy decided that conversation with his guards to pass the time was ruled out, not that he really minded, the lazy genius was hardly a conversationalist at the best of times and this certainly didn't qualify as one of them.

He momentarily considered taking Kyuubi's advice and working on his chakra control, but he then remembered that cells of this level were usually covered with chakra disruption seals, so he would achieve little more than tiring himself out and possibly pissing off his already grumpy guards. So, he decided instead, that he should take the time as a vacation before he was released and forced to train his new abilities.

"Oh what a shame." he chuckled sarcastically as he lay down to rest on his reasonably comfortable bed.

* * *

Two days passed quickly for the lazy Nara as he was able to rest peacefully for the first time since he had become a gennin six months ago. On the morning of the seventh day, he was awoken abruptly by the sound of his cell door being opened.

For almost a full minute he internally debated the benefits of asking to remain in prison, but was torn out of his contemplation by the voice of the hokage himself.

"I'm sure if I can't persuade you to leave, I could arrange for your mother to come and visit you." the old man said thoughtfully, chuckling when the young ninja was on his feet faster than he would have thought possible.

"No no, I'll come, just leave my mother out of this. That troublesome woman will be hard enough to deal with without her finding out the truth about my disappearance." the boy pleaded desperately.

The Hokage laughed at the boy's plight. "Good to see you're recovered Shikamaru. I trust this means that you'll be able to participate in the chuunin exams as scheduled?"

The shadow user sighed but nodded his head. "As troublesome as I'm sure the exam is going to be, I am curious to see what I can do now that the fox has increased my chakra significantly. Not to mention various troublesome women that would make my life hell if I were to drop out."

The old man shook his head with a smirk. "Good to see your new companion hasn't affected your personality too much. But enough of that, let's get out of here." he said as he turned to leave.

Shikamaru followed shortly after, ignoring the glare from the ANBU at the door as he passed.

"Hokage-sama? I was wondering how Naruto is doing?" he asked worriedly.

The Hokage looked at him with a small smile. "Physically he is recovering well. Unfortunately, due to his much slower healing, he is going to be in the hospital for another week, and he's never been too fond of hospitals. I fear he may get cabin fever and lose it soon." the old man said with a smirk to show he was joking.

Shikamaru snickered at the thought of the ever-hyper Naruto chained to a hospital bed.

"Would it be ok if I visit him?" he asked as they walked through the Hokage tower.

"I don't see why not. In fact he has been asking about you since the incident and I'm sure he'd be happy to see you doing well. We can go now if you'd like, since I was going to visit him later anyway." he said as they exited the tower and headed towards the hospital.

"SHIKAMARU!" a nearby voice screeched causing the Nara to shudder and the Hokage to chuckle lightly.

"Hey Ino, Chouji." he said blankly as the noisy blonde ran up to them, dragging a tired looking Chouji behind her.

Before his chubby friend could get in a word, the clearly outraged Ino began her tirade. "HEY INO? THAT'S THE BEST YOU CAN MANAGE AFTER DISAPPEARING FOR A WHOLE WEEK WITHOUT SO MUCH AS A WORD! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU?" she screeched.

"Sorry Ino, but I was on a special assignment this past couple of weeks and I was unable to contact anyone." the young gennin replied frankly, using the excuse they had devised earlier.

"You? On a special assignment? That's ridiculous! Even if there was some mysterious assignment, they'd give it to someone brilliant like Sasuke-kun, not a lazy baka like you!" she snorted indignantly.

"Actually miss Yamanaka, Shikamaru was on a special assignment directly under me for the last fortnight and, due to the nature of the task, he was unable to tell anyone about it, his team and parents included. He has in fact only just returned, successfully I might add, and we were now on our way to the hospital to get him checked out. So if you would kindly get out of the way, we'll be going." the Hokage spat angrily, unhappy about the young girl's attitude.

Ino just stood there gaping, having not noticed the village's leader during her rant, so she was caught completely off guard when his verbal assault came.

Chouji and Shikamaru just smirked at seeing their irritating teammate put in her place, as they had dreamt of such a moment since they used to play together as children.

"Well, as much fun as this has been, we really must be going. Chouji, Ino, I'll see you guys later." Shikamaru declared almost smugly, as he and the Hokage moved passed the still shell shocked blonde and continued on their way.

"Looks like you've been waiting for someone to do that for a while." Sarutobi said with a smirk.

Shikamaru chuckled. "You could say that. Thanks by the way, though it'll probably just make her even more troublesome next time I see her." the younger boy drawled, his lazy tone back in force after a brief vacation.

"Well sorry about that, but I really can't stand fangirls. I thought that they would have been filtered out during the academy and gennin exams, but I guess I was just being hopeful." the old man said with a sigh.

"Most of them were. Only the ones with real potential are left, though until they overcome said fangirl-ness, I doubt that potential will ever be reached." Shikamaru replied as they entered the hospital.

"Very true Shikamaru, you certainly have impressive insight for someone your age. Be sure to hold onto it, I guarantee it will be invaluable throughout your career." Shikamaru just nodded as they stopped outside of a door on the second floor.

Before they even opened it, they could hear Naruto's whining voice. "But Baa-chan I keep telling you, I'm fine! I need to get out of here so I can train with Ero-sannin for the finals!"

"Jeez Naruto, I thought losing the fox would have made you at least a little less troublesome." Shikamaru taunted dryly as they entered the room.

"Shikamaru! You're ok? Man I thought that something had happened since I haven't seen you since the... incident." Naruto exclaimed, remembering that it was a secret at the last second.

"No I'm fine. I just had to stay behind to make sure there were no complications."

"And were there?" Naruto asked with concern in his voice.

"Not at all. In fact things are going smoother than we had anticipated. How about you, everything ok on your end?" Shikamaru asked with the smallest trace of worry in his otherwise emotionless tone.

Naruto smiled brightly. "Actually, I feel great, though it would be nice if Baa-chan would let me out of this damn place already. I need to continue my training with Ero-sannin. It's really cool, he's teaching me some of my- the Yondaime's techniques." he finished with a frown, remembering that his heritage was also to be a secret for the time being.

"Glad to hear it Naruto, I don't want getting all soft on me." the Nara taunted, trying to distract the boy from his depressing thoughts.

It worked instantly as the blonde's famous grin returned and threatened to split his face in half. "You wish shadow boy, we'll see who's getting soft when I whoop your butt in the finals." he declared brashly.

The new jinchuruki just smirked and shook his head. "Troublesome blonde. Oh I was thinking of going to visit Lee while I was here, is it ok if he comes with me Tsunade-sama?" Shikamaru asked the intimidating woman, not wanting to get on her bad side by not asking permission first.

The busty blonde struck a thinking pose for a few moments before nodding. "Ok, but he's under your care Nara, if anything happens, it's your ass!" she threatened before leaving the room. The Hokage chuckled before he too left after saying a brief goodbye to both his young subordinates.

"Alright lets go see bushy brows!" Naruto declared loudly as he practically skipped to the doorway.

Shikamaru shook his head and muttered a quiet 'troublesome', before following the blonde, hoping desperately that nothing happened so he wouldn't have to face Tsunade's legendary wrath.

With this thought suddenly etched into his brain, the young Nara activated his shadow possession and caught the hyper blonde moments before he would have crashed into a nurse pushing a trolley full of various medicines.

"Hey what's the big idea Shikamaru, let me go!" the captured boy whined.

"No way. Tsunade said it's my ass if anything happens to or because of you. So I'm making sure that nothing happens, the easiest way I can think of, by making you go at my pace." Shikamaru then slowly started to walk forward while maintaining his jutsu, meaning that Naruto was matching him step for step. After a few minutes of that deliberate pace, both boys snapped their attention in the direction of lee's room.

"Hey Shika, you feel that?" Naruto asked in a serious tone the Nara had never heard from the boy.

"Yeah, it feels sort of like fox's chakra. If I had to guess I'd say it's another container."

"Yeah, I think it's that Gaara kid from Suna. I remember this feeling from the preliminaries when he fought...oh shit he must have come to finish him off, we've gotta hurry." Naruto exclaimed as he took off down the hall. Shikamaru followed silently, foregoing his usual 'troublesome' due to the gravity of the situation.

Almost immediately, Naruto had made it to the room and burst through the door to find Lee covered in the red head's sand, moments away from being crushed. His loud entrance was however, distraction enough for Shikamaru to activate his shadow capture technique.

"Why cant I move?" the deranged Suna nin roared as he tried to clutch at his head as he usually did when 'mother' became agitated as she now was.

"I've got you in my shadow jutsu, now, release Lee or I'll show you why my clan are known as assassination specialists." Shikamaru ordered in a dead calm tone that almost made Naruto shiver.

"No! Mother demands his blood!" the boy screamed, struggling in vain against his restraints.

"I don't care. You have 5 seconds." the shadow user said calmly as hands made of shadows made their way up the red head's body.

"No! I must prove my existence!" Gaara screamed frantically.

"4." Shikamaru stated as the hands rose higher, reaching the boy's chest.

"Mother will have your blood for this!"

"3." the hands reached his collar.

"I'm going to kill you all!" he shrieked wildly.

"2." Shikamaru continued, ignoring the boy's threats.

Gaara roared angrily as the hands made their way around his throat and began to exert pressure.

"1. Last chance Gaara." he said calmly, increasing the pressure of the jutsu.

"Why do you do this? Why do you care if he dies?" the Suna nin asked, confused by their concern for others.

"Because he is a friend and we will do anything to protect him, even fight a fellow container like you." Naruto declared proudly.

Gaara's eyes shot open. "What do you mean?"

"I used to be like you Gaara. I was the holder of the Kyuubi no Kitsune until recently when a friend of mine helped me get rid of it." Naruto said seriously.

Gaara stared at him for a while disbelievingly. "But if you had a demon in you, why aren't you like me? How can you care for others and not just yourself? I saw what happened to you at the preliminaries, why did you fight for that girl and why didn't you kill that boy?"

"Because I have friends who care about me and who I care about. They keep me strong. They help me when things get tough or I'm feeling down. That's what friends are for and it's why I would die to protect them. Without them, I would be nothing." Naruto declared with conviction.

Gaara stared blankly at them for a few moments before he spoke again. "You said you had a friend who helped rid you of your demon? Do you think they might be able to do the same for me?" Gaara asked hopefully.

The two leaf gennin looked at each other momentarily before Shikamaru spoke "He might not be able to get rid of it altogether, but he could probably fix your seal so you can sleep and so the demon can't talk to you. Though he may need some convincing, considering that you're a foreign nin and you haven't exactly been friendly to our nin so far." Shikamaru sneered.

"What if I defect? I hate it in Suna and I'd be happy to give you vital information on it."

"What kind of information? Suna is Konoha's ally, what could we really need to know?" the shadow user asked, suspicious of the red head.

"They're not going to be your allies for long. A war is coming...and it's coming soon." Gaara replied seriously.

Chapter End

A/N: Cliffhanger…sort of…anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next one shall be coming soon, probably tomorrow. Till then, let me know what you think.

Mr Chunk


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Here is chapter 3 of "The Shadow Demon", or as I affectionately call it, "Super Shika". This contains a fair bit of action and teasings at the romance aspects that will develop soon. Enjoy.

The Shadow Demon 3

Shikamaru and Naruto stood in the Hokage's office, waiting patiently for their audience to snap out of their stupors. Immediately after hearing Gaara's story, the three of them went to the Hokage's office and, thanks to Naruto's impatience, interrupted a meeting between the old man and his two loyal students. They had just finished explaining what the sand jinchuruki had told them and what he had asked for in return for his assistance.

After a full minute, Sarutobi finally broke the silence. "Let me get this straight. You interrupted this Gaara boy trying to kill one of our ninjas, restrained him, and told him about the transfer. He then said that he would defect and provide information about an upcoming attack by Suna and another village in return for someone fixing his seal to let him sleep and give him control?"

"Pretty much Jii-san. Whatdya think?" Naruto asked.

The old man sighed heavily and turned to his white haired student. "Have you got anything to confirm anything about an attack Jaraiya?" he asked seriously.

"Nothing explicit, but there have been mutterings about something big coming up soon."

"It looks like we're going to have to agree to the kid's deal. Bring him in Shikamaru." the Hokage said wearily.

Shikamaru left and returned moments later followed by Gaara, who was obviously fighting to control himself.

"For the sake of this interview I'm going to have Jaraiya here place a temporary suppression seal to block the demon's influence. You understand this is for all of our sakes. Yes?" the hokage declared, his voice overflowing with authority and power.

The young red head nodded and Jaraiya stepped forward and did a number of hand signs before placing his hand on the boy's chest . It glowed brightly for a few moments before dying down, at which point the young container visibly relaxed and his whole aura seemed to calm also.

"So Gaara-san, my young nin here tell me that you wish to offer us some information. Is that correct?" Sarutobi asked in a more conversational tone than earlier.

"That is correct Hokage-sama. In exchange for sanctuary and some help with my seal, I am willing to provide you with information regarding an upcoming attack on your village." the boy replied calmly, his tone missing all the killer edge that they had previously experienced from him.

"And how do we know that this information will be reliable, you are a foreign nin, the son of the Kazekage no less. How do we know you aren't loyal to your home village and this isn't a trap?" Jaraiya asked suspiciously.

"I hold no loyalty to that village or that man. Since my eighth birthday my father has ordered my assassination more than 50 times, though obviously all attempts were unsuccessful." he said plainly in reply, startling everyone but Naruto and Sarutobi, who knew the blonde had a similar history within their village.

"I see. I agree to your terms Gaara-san and, provided your information checks out and you assist the Konoha forces to the best of your ability, I will have Jaraiya perform a permanent version of that sealing technique." the Hokage said almost happily.

Gaara nodded and bowed to the older nins. "If you wouldn't mind Hokage-sama, how long do you expect this current seal to last?" the boy asked almost hopefully.

The old Hokage smiled warmly. "About 12 hours. I take it you would like to get some rest?" he asked sympathetically.

The young boy nodded excitedly. "I haven't slept peacefully in more than 8 years, I would truly appreciate some time, whilst the seal is in place."

Hiruzen nodded. "That shouldn't be a problem. As soon as we're done here, I'll arrange for some sleeping quarters to made available. And don't worry you'll be monitored in case anything unexpected happens."

"In that case let's get started..."

Gaara then proceeded to tell them all that he knew regarding the impending invasion by Suna and Oto, including his suspicion that the Kazekage had been replaced months ago. After he had finished, he was led to the ANBU holding cell that Shikamaru had used and assured that the seals of the room would provide extra protection just in case. The boy however, didn't even seem to hear them as he walked immediately to the bed and collapsed, snoring loudly.

* * *

After Gaara had left the room, Shikamaru was dismissed but Naruto was dragged, kicking and screaming, back to the hospital by a less than amused Tsunade.

Being left to his own devices, Shikamaru decided to do what any responsible ninja would do the day after being released with a strange new power...he went to his favourite hill and laid back, watching the clouds drift by carelessly.

Unfortunately for the new jinchuruki, only half an hour into his relaxation, he noticed a burst of chakra and the distinct smell of stale smoke.

"How're things, sensei?" he drawled sleepily, not shifting his gaze from the fluffy objects of his admiration.

"I'm not too bad Shikamaru, considering one of my students volunteered to become the host of the most powerful bijuu ever without consulting or telling me. How are you doing?" Asuma replied sarcastically.

Shikamaru sighed and muttered a quiet 'troublesome' before sitting up and looking at his sensei.

"You know that I wasn't allowed to tell anyone. And even if I was, what difference would it of made? I'd have still gone through with it despite your concerns, and you were obviously informed anyway. I don't see why it matters."

Asuma sighed heavily and sat down next to his student.

"Fine, let's just forget it." the older nin replied unenthusiastically.

Silence formed over the two for some time before Asuma decided to break it.

"Have you trained since the transfer?" he asked despite already guessing the answer.

Confirming his suspicions, the young shadow user simply scoffed and laid back down.

Asuma shook his head at the boy's lazy attitude. "Have you at least tried out your chakra control?" he asked almost hopefully, though he suspected the response would be the same.

To his surprise, the seemingly sleeping boy pointed to the nearby forest, where he could see at least 20 shadow clones doing the tree walking exercise whilst balancing leaves on their heads and limbs.

"What good does that do you?" the older nin asked, as he was unfamiliar with the technique and its effects.

"When I was talking to Naruto the other day, he told me about this training he did with Jaraiya where he had dozens of clones working on mastering a technique. Apparently, whenever a Kage Bunshin dispels, all that it has learned is passed on to the original. That means that I can rest and watch clouds, while my clones train. I get all the benefits, without having to do more than create the clones, which is simple with the chakra boost I got from the fox."

Asuma gaped at his lazy student. Not only had he learned a jounin level technique, but he was using it so effectively that he could just lay back and relax whilst still technically training.

"You really are something Shikamaru. Now if only we could get you to use your genius for the good of the village instead of furthering your laziness."

The boy didn't respond and Asuma almost thought that he actually had fallen asleep this time.

"You do realise you're still gonna have to train your body, since the clones can't do that for you." the jounin scolded lightly.

Shikamaru gave only a 'meh' as his response and Asuma decided to give up and left the boy to finish his 'training'.

* * *

Days passed and it was now time for the chuunin exam finals to begin. Shikamaru and the other finalists, minus Sasuke and Dosu, were standing in the middle of Konoha's chuunin exam arena.

As he looked around the surprisingly large crowd, the young Nara could only make out a few ANBU members and jounin posted as guards, though he knew that there were actually many more than that concealing themselves till the invasion started.

The Hokage stepped forward in his booth and signaled for the crowd to silence. After a few moments he spoke up.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the finals of this year's chuunin exams! As always, there are some talented young competitors involved in the exam, but this year's candidates are shaping up to be some of the best we've seen in years. So sit back and get ready, because the first match is about to begin."

The crowd roared as the old veteran went back to his seat.

"A nice speech as always, Hokage-dono." the Kazekage offered politely, though, since he knew who it was really, Sarutobi detected the sneer behind the words.

"Thank you Kazekage-dono. I understand all three of your children are participating this year, you must be quite proud."

"That I am. And I look forward to seeing how they perform against your latest generation, especially that young Uchiha boy. I've heard he's quite the talent."

Hiruzen gritted his teeth at the veiled meaning behind the "Kazekage's" taunt, but said nothing as the proctor stepped up to the finalists.

"Before we begin, you should know that Dosu of Oto has apparently dropped out of the competition, so the winner of the match between Shikamaru of Konoha and Temari of Suna will no longer have to have an extra match. The rest of the matches will remain the same." the senbon chewing jounin said curtly.

Shikamaru smirked, 'One less match. That makes things slightly less troublesome.' he thought almost happily.

"Now the first match is about to begin, so everyone but Naruto and Neji of Konoha, please go to the competitor's box and await your turn."

As they passed, Shikamaru wished Naruto luck, to which the blonde declared loudly, "Luck? Don't need it! I'm gonna whomp this emo douche all by myself."

Shikamaru chuckled and walked away with his traditional slouch and pocketed hands.

The proctor stepped between the two competitors, "Ready?" he asked, getting a nod from Neji and a "Hell yeah!" from Naruto. He shook his head and jumped back. "Begin!" he shouted and the crowd roared again.

Neji, still sporting heavy bandaging and several visible injuries from his previous encounter with the blonde, flinched as Naruto leaped towards him.

The former jinchuruki frowned as he saw the involuntary action, and halted his advance, stopping several feet in front of the, almost trembling, Hyuuga.

"Look Neji, I am not sorry for what happened at the preliminaries, you crossed a line and got exactly what you deserved. Having said that, I enacted my revenge, and no longer hold a grudge against you. I promise that I will not lose control again." Naruto declared sternly.

Neji looked to the boy that had destroyed him less than a month prior with nothing less than amazement. "Why would you say that? Why don't you just use that power of yours and finish me off?" he asked, unable to comprehend the blonde's complete change in disposition from last time.

"It is just as I said. You crossed a line and were punished, there is no need for you to be punished further. And frankly, I hate using that power. It was not mine, but strength borrowed from a curse that was placed on me at birth." Naruto admitted.

Neji looked shocked at the blonde, but his shock quickly turned to rage. "What would you know about curses? You see this?" he yelled, taking off his forehead protector and pointing to a strange green seal on his head. "This is a true curse! Every day, knowing that you are forced into the servitude of your own family, simply because that is how it was fated! What could you know of my suffering?"

Naruto looked at the boy, a sense of understanding leveling itself over him. "I know better than you think. When I was born another being was sealed within me, a true monster, a creature of limitless power and fury. Every single day of my life I was scorned, hated, tormented by everyone that I knew, with no idea of why. Only when I was twelve did I finally find out why, but it didn't lesson my pain as I had hoped, it only made things worse. Once I was aware of the creature, it began contacting me. Tempting me, insulting me, trying to manipulate me into continuing the pain and suffering that it had started and as someone who had grown up without any family, or friends, having known nothing but hatred since the day of my birth, do you have any idea how tempting those thoughts were? To surrender to the fate that it seemed I was born to?" Naruto ranted, screaming the last parts at the shell shocked Hyuuga.

"Why? Why would you struggle against such a thing?" Neji asked, having experienced the power the blonde was speaking of first hand, he couldn't believe that he had managed to resist such a fate.

"Because just when things were at their darkest, light began to creep into my world. I found people that I could care for, who could care for me. My friends, my senseis, my surrogate family, these people saved me from the darkness that was my life before, and I will stop at nothing to keep them safe and happy, even sacrificing myself or my dreams." Naruto declared, his voice so loaded with determination and confidence, that not even the skeptical Hyuuga couldn't doubt him.

For almost an entire minute, both competitors stood completely still, intently gazing into each other's eyes. Just as the crowd was beginning to become restless and started jeering, Neji spoke. "Proctor, I surrender."

The effect was instantaneous as the stadium was filled with cries of outrage and disbelief.

"Why?" Genma asked, having to yell to be heard over the crowd.

"I am still too heavily injured from the preliminary, I am unable to fight." The white eyed gennin explained.

"Then, why were you here at all, why not retire weeks ago?" the chuunin asked with a frown, the spectators were getting rowdier every moment.

"I only showed up today because I believed it was my fate to be killed by Uzumaki for what I did to Hinata-sama. I now understand that such thinking was foolish. Naruto-san was correct. I went too far and was punished, there is no need for any grudge to remain between us, and since that is the case, there is no need for me to jeopardize my life and career by fighting a full strength opponent, while I can barely stand." Neji answered, getting an understanding nod from both Naruto and the proctor.

"Very well. Hyuuga Neji is unwilling to continue, the winner of the first match, Uzumaki Naruto!" the senbon chewer proclaimed over the crowd, whose angry cries only intensified.

"A wise decision Neji. I'm glad I was able to get at least that much into that stubborn head of yours." Naruto joked as they walked off the field, lazily dodging the thrown items from the crowd.

"As am I, Naruto-san, thank you for opening my eyes." Neji replied as they made it into the fighter's box.

"The next match is due to begin, will Sasuke of Konoha and Gaara of Suna please come to the arena floor!" Genma called, happy that the crowd's disposition calmed at the announcement of the most anticipated match of the tournament. It was not to last however, as it quickly became apparent that the Uchiha still had not arrived. Looking to the Kage box for advice, he almost cheered when the Hokage gave some instructions to one of his aides, who then Shunshined to the anxious chuunin's side. Again his relief was short lived as he knew that the crowd wasn't going to appreciate the news he was about to deliver.

"Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately, Uchiha Sasuke is running late, so his match will be pushed back in the order. Can Kankarou of Suna and Shino of Konoha please come to the floor." He announced, wincing at the irate screams sounding from the stands.

"Proctor, I forfeit." Kankarou yelled, just barely being heard over the deafening roar of the crowd, which only increased with his announcement.

"Why did I agree to this shit?" Genma mumbled as he dodged a bottle thrown by a random villager. "Fine, Temari of Suna, Shikamaru of Konoha, get down here now! And if either of you even thinks of forfeiting, I'll kick your ass myself!"

"There goes that plan." Shikamaru muttered as he calmly walked down the stairs to the arena, ignoring the flashy entrance of his opponent.

"Finally. Begin!" Genma yelled as he leapt backwards, hoping desperately that these two did something so the crow didn't riot.

He got his wish as Temari immediately leapt backwards, drawing her fan and unleashed a violent barrage of winds at the bored looking shadow user. Shikamaru sighed before rushing through some hand signs and sinking into his shadow, moments before his opponent's attack swept over his location, leaving deep gashes in the wall behind him. After the attack died down, Temari was forced to dodge backwards as a shadow shot towards her from the tree line.

The girl smirked confidently when the black line slowed, then stopped completely. She marked the limit with her fan and relaxed her stance. "Now I know the range of your attack, I have nothing to worry about." She announced before drawing back her fan in preparation of another attack.

"Troublesome cocky blondes." Muttered a voice behind the girl, forcing her to cancel her attack and quickly turn to find her opponent leaning against the wall behind her lazily.

'How the hell did he do that?' she yelled internally, whilst maintaining her smirk on the outside. "Not bad pineapple head, but you should have attacked rather than lounging around like an idiot!" she yelled as she fired off more gusts of wind, again leaving deep trenches in the wall, but again missing her target.

"Very troublesome." Shikamaru sighed as he emerged from his shadow, once again standing behind the frustrated blonde.

"I'll get you this time, you bastard!" Temari yelled as she completely opened her fan and channeled more chakra into her attack, upping the power so much that it decimated the treed section of the arena. When the winds finally died down and the dust had cleared, the Suna kunoichi couldn't fight back the growl that rose from her throat as she found her opponent slouching where he was before the attack, completely unharmed.

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, the usually intelligent woman carefully analysed the situation and tried to develop a plan that would let her defeat her lazy foe. Before she could get very far into her reasoning however, she was forced to once again leap backwards as the slouching gennin's shadow crept towards her.

"That same trick again? When are you going to understand that that won't work on me?" she yelled, ignoring the voice in the back of her head that pointed out she had been doing the same thing.

"Troublesome woman, you shouldn't yell out such things, it only makes you look stupid when something like this happens." Drawled a painfully familiar voice from below her. Looking down, she was both infuriated and embarrassed to find the shadow user's head poking up out of her shadow between her legs, looking up at her with what was assuredly a clear shot up her kimono.

"What the hell are you doing pervert?" she shrieked, trying to leap away, only to find that she had no control over her body.

Shikamaru sighed and muttered under his breath at her assumption, knowing that it was going to get him into trouble from the various troublesome women in his life. "I'm not down here for the view, you crazy blonde, I had to get into contact with your shadow and this was the easiest way. Besides, you're wearing bike shorts, I couldn't see anything even if I wanted too."

Temari huffed indignantly "What? So I'm not good enough for you now?" she yelled, though neither of them new why she was upset about that particular option.

"Firstly, I never said that. You're obviously attractive, so don't bother trying to play that card. Second-"

"I think it'd be best if you stopped there." Advised the procter as he came over to the squabbling gennin.

"Whatever. Just give up so we can get out of here, you troublesome woman."

"Screw you pineapple head! I'm not giving in to you, you've got to run out of chakra eventually, and when you do, I'm going to stomp that stupid looking face of yours into the dirt." Temari growled angrily.

Shikamaru sighed again. 'Sweet Kami. She might even be more troublesome than Ino. She does have a killer pair of legs on her though.' He thought, though he knew that if he spoke any part of that out loud, he would be literally be ripped apart by the furious blonde women that seemed to be flocking to him of late.

Shaking those distracting thoughts aside, the teen reversed his technique and rose up from the shadow, paying careful attention to maintaining his hold on Temari's shadow, lest she follow through on her earlier threat. Once he was fully emerged, he changed the symbol his hands were in and the shadows underneath the young kunoichi began to ascend her curvaceous body, till all that was left was her head, which now wore a terrified expression as she recognized the nature of the technique being used as a similar one to that of her psychotic brother.

"I see you recognize this attack. You're right, it is a modified version of your brother's Subaku Kyuu, I call it the Kage Kyuu, and as with Gaara's if I should choose, I could crush you right now. It's your call." Shikamaru declared as he lightly increased the pressure of his attack, showing her that he was serious.

"Alright. I forfeit." The proud wind user muttered as she hung her head in disappointment and shame.

"Winner, Shikamaru Nara!" Genma called, nodding his approval to the boy, who had managed to defeat his opponent soundly, but without dealing undue damage to the fiery young woman.

The Nara released his technique and they both walked back up the stairs to the competitors box, neither looking happy with the result, though in Shikamaru's case that was more because he was thinking about his rather complex attraction to abrasive women. 'Must be some sort of genetic trait.' He decided as he saw his shrieking mother in the crowd next to his smiling father.

"Will Subaku no Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke make their way to the arena floor now!" Genma ordered, not happy that he had to remind the temporarily distracted crowd that one of the main people they had paid to see, had not yet arrived.

"Damn Uchiha. Hope that crazy Gaara kid whoops his pompous ass." Genma muttered as felt the telltale signs of a Shunshin approaching.

As predicted, a large swirl of leaves erupted in the centre of the field, revealing Kakashi and his student in an obviously staged pose.

"We're not too late are we?" Kakashi asked sheepishly, earning a growl from the increasingly grouchy Genma.

"Just get out of the way so we can start this damn thing already." The bandanna wearer ordered, getting an apologetic nod from the copy nin, who then vanished the same way he appeared.

"The final match of the first round, Gaara of Suna vs Sasuke of Konoha ,begin!" the proctor declared, giving the newly arrived Uchiha little time to prepare as he was suddenly forced to avoid a barrage of sand attacks from his impatient opponent.

Using his newly 'acquired' speed and Sharingan predictive abilities, Sasuke easily avoided the attacks and leapt back to a safe distance.

"Let's see how you handle fire. Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" the cocky avenger announced, launching a large fireball at the Suna gennin, who didn't bat an eyelid as his sand swallowed the attack, snuffing it out before he even felt a rise in temperature.

"You will have to do much better than that Uchiha!" Gaara yelled as his sand restarted its attack, flowing faster and harder than before, leaving gashes in the ground and walls where it missed its target.

"You can't win, I know how to beat your defense!" Sasuke yelled as his speed suddenly increased drastically and he vanished, only to reappear moments later, landing a vicious punch to the red head's face. The blow would have knocked him down, but his sand caught and pulled him away from another attack, that would have connected directly with his chin.

**"**The green boy already tried this and he was much faster than you, what makes you think this will work?" Gaara asked as he increased his concentration, speeding up his sand and using it to intercept and counterattack the aggressive teen.

Sasuke growled as he narrowly avoided getting caught by a giant sand fist. "That no name fool is nothing compared to my Uchiha blood!" he yelled as he charged the stoic jinchuruki.

Gaara fought back his rage as the boy evaded his defenses and landed a succession of harsh blows, knocking him around the arena just as Lee had done in the preliminary. As the assault continued, he felt his control slipping and knew that his tenant would make an appearance if he didn't do something soon.

Surrounding himself in a ball of hardened sand, the pale container was thankful for the brief reprieve as his opponent's attacks ceased after he realised he could not pierce the impressive shield. Breathing deeply to calm himself, Gaara carefully considered his options. He could easily defeat the Uchiha if he let his control slip, but even he knew how important the boy was to the village that he hoped would soon be his home, and he couldn't risk injuring the boy, it would jeopardize his chances of defecting. As much as both he and his tenant would appreciate wiping the floor with the arrogant fool, doing so at the cost of his potential happiness and peace was simply not worth it. Using his third eye technique, he was relieved to see his opponent on the other side of the stadium, crouched high on one of the walls. 'I should have enough time.' He thought as he began to call back his shield.

"Proctor." He called, getting the attention of the jounin, who had, along with everyone else, been staring at the Uchiha, trying to figure out what the boy was up to.

"Yes?" Genma asked, curious as to why the boy was talking to him in the middle of such a tense match.

"I would like to forfeit. Any longer and I may be unable to retain my control." He said lowly, so only he and the jounin could hear.

Genma, who, like all other jounin, was aware of the invasion and the red head's supposed role, nodded his head gravely, understanding that it was in everyone's best interests to ensure that Gaara kept his cool. "Subaku no Gaara no longer wishes to continue, winner of this match-" but his voice was cut off by an angered roar and the sound of a thousand birds chirping. "Oh shit!" He cursed, leaping forward in an attempt to intercept the irate looking Uchiha, who was charging the Ichibi container with one of Konoha's most infamous attacks charged in his right hand. His actions were for naught however, as Sasuke brutally rammed his lightning encased fist through the shoulder of the Leaf Village's newest ally.

The entire stadium went silent, everyone, having clearly heard the proctor's announcement, was shocked that the last member of the prestigious Uchiha clan, would continue his attack after his opponent had forfeited. The silence was broken as Gaara's shocked brain finally registered that he was in a tremendous amount of pain and the boy let out a heart wrenching scream of agony that echoed throughout the entire stadium and beyond.

"What the fuck are you doing Uchiha?" Genma yelled as he ripped the boy's hand from the shrieking container's torso. "I stopped the match! Why the hell di-" his admonishment was cut off however, when entire stadium felt a surge of demonic chakra as Gaara's scream was replaced with demented laughter.

**"Come to me Uchiha! I will taste your blood!" **a demonic voice not belonging to the red head roared from his mouth.

Genma turned slowly to find Gaara's body rapidly being consumed by his own sand as it began to take on a monstrous form.

"Shit! The demon's getting loose. Ok Uchiha, you let that fucking thing out, it's your responsibility. Lead it away from the civilians. No matter what happens, you can't let him enter the village once he transforms!" the jounin ordered as explosions and the sounds of battle erupted within the arena and the village.

"Wait, what the hell is that thing?" Sasuke yelled as he watched the terrifying transformation continue.

"I don't have time to explain. Just lead it out of here before somebody gets hurt. We'll send back up as soon as we can spare it." Genma yelled as he deflected an incoming barrage of kunai.

Sasuke looked ready to continue arguing as Kakashi appeared, putting his hand on the boy's shoulder and shaking his head. "This is your fault Sasuke. I told you not to go too far against him and you didn't listen, now we all have to deal with the consequences of your stupidity. Lead that thing away from here now! That is a direct order from your commanding officer in a time of war. If you disobey, I'll kill you myself. Now go!" the uncharacteristically serious masked man commanded, his exposed eyes showing that he would have no problem following through on his threat.

Knowing he had no room for argument, Sasuke merely snarled as he ran over one of the walls of the arena, followed closely by the semi-transformed Ichibi container.

Kakashi let out a sigh as he watched the creature that scared even him plow through the stadium walls in persuit of his disobedient student. His sigh was replaced by a curse as he noticed the forms of the container's siblings following their brother's trail of destruction. He damn near cried when Naruto and Shikamaru appeared in front of him, both apparently already having participated in the battle.

"Where do you want us Kakash-sensei?" Naruto asked, his usual playfulness replaced with the seriousness of an experienced warrior.

"Sasuke just lead Gaara and his siblings out of the stadium and away from the village." The silver haired jounin explained, getting nods from both gennin.

"And that troublesome jackass doesn't stand a chance against a transforming Gaara." Shikamaru added, grumbling at the Uchiha's thoughtlessness that had started the invasion earlier than they were prepared for.

"We have to help the stubborn teme out, don't we?" Naruto asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Fraid so. You two are the only ones who stand a chance against Gaara, so it's up to you to put a stop to him."

"And save the 'valuable Uchiha' before he gets his troublesome ass crushed." Shikamaru stated wearily before sighing. "Oh well. I guess we don't have a choice. Come one Naruto, the longer we wait, the more chance we'll get chewed out for letting duck-ass-head die." The lazy boy grumbled as he moved towards the obvious trail of his fellow jinchuruki.

"Wait, you'll need help tracking them!" Kakashi yelled as he began the hand signs for the summoning technique, but was cut off by his blonde student's voice.

"Don't bother, me n Shika can sense Gaara's youki from miles away, we'll find him in no time." Naruto yelled as he chased after his pineapple headed friend.

"Are you sure it's wise to just send them?" Gai asked as he appeared beside his long time rival.

Kakashi smirked. "In our entire village there is not a single person that has even close to the potential of those two gennin. I wouldn't be surprised if they both surpass us within the next few years. If anyone can deal with an out of control jinchuruki, it's those two." He declared proudly as he countered an attack from a Suna jounin, killing him in the process.

Chapter End

A/N: Ooo cliffhanger! Next chapter will cover the fights between the Suna siblings and their pursuers. Who will come out on top? And where will their allegiances lie when all is said and done? All this and more, on the next exciting chapter of "Super Shika"!

P.S. Sorry for the tacky outro, I was watching the Adam West batman recently and the announcer's voice is stuck in my head. I am currently have six ongoing stories so my next update may not be for a few days. Till then, let me know what you think.

P.P.S. Sorry for anyone disappointed with the Neji fight, but I just didn't think that he would be recovered enough to get into a serious fight. And besides, how many times have we all read the "Rasengan vs Kaiten" version of that fight, I felt like doing something new. Let me know how you think it turned out.

Mr Chunk


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Here is the next chapter for the 8 people that seem to be following this story. Thanks for sticking with it, enjoy.

Shadow Demon 4

It was not difficult for Naruto and Shikamaru to follow Gaara's trail. Even if they had been unable to sense the demonised boy's chakra, they could have just followed the decimated landscape that he was leaving in his wake. Suddenly, Shikamaru let out a curse.

"You sense them too?" Naruto asked, though it was not really a question.

"Yeah. I count about 10, a full squad." Shikamaru replied in an irritated grumble.

"And judging by their speed and chakra, they're all at least mid-chuunin level. Any ideas?" the blonde asked hopefully, not at all happy with the options that he had been able to come up with.

"It's troublesome, but we've only got three options. We set a trap, but it will probably only get a few of them, and it would slow us down so we might not be able to catch up to Gaara and the jackass in time. Or we stop and ambush them before they can catch us. We would probably be able to win, but we would defiantly not be in time to stop Gaara. Or…"

"Or one of us goes back, while the other keeps going. The one who stays back will probably be able to take out a few and at least slow down the rest, while the other one has a better chance of catching up the teme and the Tanuki." Naruto finished with a sigh, getting a nod from his lazy friend. "We don't really have a choice, do we?"

"Not really. Which only leaves who is going to do what. Had this happened two months ago I would have been the obvious choice to stay back, but…"

"But since the transfer, you have a much better chance of defeating Gaara. Which means I have to be the one who stays back." Naruto finished, getting a saddened nod from the shadow wielder.

"I'm sorr-"

"Don't sweat it Shika. I'm a shinobi of Konoha. This is what I have been training my whole life for. I just want you to promise me one thing." Naruto said seriously, his grave tone highlighting the seriousness of the situation more than any words ever could. "If something should happen to me, I need you to be the one to look out for everyone."

If the blonde had made that request of anyone else, they would probably have had no idea what he meant, but Shikamaru knew better. Naruto, more than anyone the young man had ever met or even heard of, cared for the people around him. Ever since they were just small children, Naruto had always been there for his peers. Whether it was saving Sakura or Chouji from bullies, or returning Akamaru after he had run off before he was properly trained, or even just cheering everyone up with his antics. Unlike those who said that Naruto's pranks were just stupid mischief or even those that said they were a cry for help, Shikamaru knew the truth, his biggest pranks always came at the time when his peers could use the distraction, or the laughter the most. If ever the atmosphere in their class got too apprehensive or tense, Naruto would always pull something and everyone would forget their troubles. The best example was his infamous defacing of the Hokage monument. For the weeks leading up to the graduation exam, everyone, even Shikamaru himself, had been getting more and more nervous and worried. But then, on the morning of the exam, everyone woke up to find that Naruto had pulled his biggest prank ever, and like magic, the pressure lifted. The concerns and doubts that had been eating away at their confidence had been swallowed by the distraction and the result spoke for itself, almost their entire class had passed that exam, except for the blonde himself. It was for reasons like this that Shikamaru was never among those that criticized the boy for his ambitious dream, because he knew that Naruto had the most important characteristic that made Konoha's Hokages great, heart. More than anyone else, Naruto had the heart to do whatever it took to make sure the people he cared about were happy, not even hesitating to sacrifice his own wellbeing in the process. Even now, he was preparing to sacrifice himself for Sasuke Uchiha, someone who had, pretty much every day since he met the blonde, either berated or teased the boy and the only thing that he asked in return was for Shikamaru to take up his position as caretaker. Not even the laziest gennin in Konoha's history could reject that request.

"Of course, Naruto. But you know as well as I do, that nobody can do that job like you can, so you'd better make sure you don't die." Shikamaru ordered sternly, getting a foxy grin and a nod from the blonde before he abruptly stopped and turned back to face their pursuers and his destiny.

* * *

It was only a few minutes later that Shikamaru had caught up to Gaara's siblings, who were chasing after the irate redhead, both looking far from pleased with what was happening.

"So you guys don't like this form of him either?" the shadow user asked as he appeared between them, startling the older gennin, who had been too caught up in thoughts of their out of control brother, to notice his approach. Now that they did see him though, they both leapt away and got into fighting stances.

"That's not necessary, I didn't come here to fight. I just wanted to see if I could help get Gaara under control before he fully releases Shukaku and we're all screwed." The Nara proclaimed, raising his hands in a placating manner.

"Yeah right! Gaara's transformation is a part of the plan. We're only following him to make sure he's aimed in the right direction when Shukaku fully emerges!" Kankuro yelled, though Temari obviously wasn't happy with that plan.

"What if it didn't have to be that way?" Shikamaru asked, getting a hopeful expression from the girl and a suspicious glare from her brother.

"What are you talking about?" Temari asked, lowering her fan slightly.

"Gaara told us of the invasion weeks ago." He explained, getting gasps from both and a furious expression from the puppet user. "He struck a deal with the Hokage so that he would be able to defect and our seal master would repair his seal, giving him control and letting him sleep." He continued, making Temari's eyes start to become tear laden and Kankuro's stance to tense even further. "The catch was, that he didn't participate in the invasion, and had to help wherever possible. This means that if he attacks the Uchiha, the deal will probably be voided, and he'll have to return to Suna, that is, assuming he survives." He finished darkly, making Temari's expression shift back to concern and Kankuro's warp into a confident smirk.

"Well too bad for you, leaf pussy! Cause nothing can stop that demon after he is this far gone! And as soon as he's free he'll crush that stupid Uchiha and then do the same to your whole vill-" the puppet master's arrogant tirade was cut short when he suddenly became unconscious and fell to the ground below.

"Will the deal still apply if we can save the Uchiha?" Temari asked anxiously, lowering her fan after having used it on her brother.

"Assuming the red eyed bastard is still intact and we can stop him from going anywhere near the village, it should be." Shikamaru replied, getting a determined nod from the blonde as she turned and began following her brother's trail again.

The usually lazy shinobi smiled as he rushed to keep pace with the determined woman. 'Maybe she's not so troublesome after all.' He thought, unable to resist glancing at her shapely curves as she bounded through the trees ahead of him. Forcing himself to keep his gaze locked on the trail of the buxom woman's brother, Shikamaru spared a thought for his the other blonde he had set out with. 'You had better be okay Naruto.'

* * *

Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze was currently in quite a bit of trouble. His ambush had started well. The dozen explosive tags he had set up had taken out half of the pursuit squad. Unfortunately, this left the lone gennin facing off against four chuunin and a jounin, all of whom seemed to be rather unhappy at the demise of their comrades.

He had managed to take out the first pair that had charged him with a pair of well timed kunai strikes, from there though, things had quickly gone downhill. Rather than sit back and let his subordinates do the work as Naruto had hoped, the jounin had ordered all three of them to attack together. The outclassed blonde was only able to block the first few attacks before he was nailed with a nasty punch to his stomach, which drove the air out of his lungs and left him open for the five varied attacks that followed quickly afterwards, ending with a brutal spin kick from the jounin which sent him careening into and through a tree.

Forcing himself to sit up, Naruto was unable to choke back the gasp of pain that sounded as his ribs and back screamed in agony. 'Man I never thought I would miss that stupid fox, but I could really use some healing right about now.' He thought before pushing chakra into his limbs and leaping away, moments before the spot he was just laying in was pelted with a barrage of kunai.

'They didn't even stop to taunt me before going for the kill, they just don't make villains like they used to.' He thought sarcastically as he ignored his aching body's objections and continued his vigorous evasive maneuvers.

Remembering a trick he used against Jiraiya in a spar once, Naruto grabbed onto a branch and swung through a half rotation before launching a few kunai at his stalkers. In their surprise, they failed to avoid the attack and one of the chuunin was killed instantly as one of the knives embedded itself in his throat, the other two were comparatively better off, receiving only one in the shoulder and thigh respectively.

"You'll pay for that punk!" the last chuunin roared as he pulled the projectile from his wounded leg and charged the wincing teen.

His jounin commander was barely able to voice his warning before the enraged Oto shinobi was caught fireball caused by the explosive tag the crafty gennin had placed on the tree whilst doing his acrobatics.

When the smoke cleared, the charred remains of the chuunin were indistinguishable from those of the tree he had been standing on and, if the situation weren't still so dangerous, Naruto might have retched from the realisation of what he had just done to another human being. As it was however, he just looked past the smoking grave to his remaining opponent, who seemed disturbingly undisturbed by having his entire quad wiped out in a matter of minutes.

"You're pretty good kid, but don't trick yourself into thinking you're good enough to take me on. I'm going to kill you, then I'm going to go kill that little friend of yours too." The man taunted with a wicked laugh.

Naruto offered no reply, but it was obvious from the tensing of his stance and the gritting of his teeth that he was pissed. He couldn't help but think that if he still had the fox he would be able to call on its power and then he could finish the jounin quickly and catch up to Shikamaru. He quickly stomped that thought out of his head though, remembering the promise he had made to his apathetic friend.

FLASHBACK

"...I don't want getting all soft on me." Shikamaru stated with a mischievous smirk.

Naruto grinned widely at his friend's challenge. "You wish shadow boy, we'll see who's getting soft when I whoop your butt in the finals."

FLASHBACK END

He had promised Shikamaru that he would not become a liability now that he didn't have the fox to save him when things got serious and now here his was, literally the first serious situation he'd been in since he made his promise and he was already slipping. 'Like hell I am! I'm Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze! Son of the Yondaime Hokage! Former container of the Kyuubi no Kitsune! And apprentice to the legendary toad sage Jiraiya! I will not let myself be defeated so easily!' he roared internally, his opponent actually flinching slightly at the extreme determination that seemed to radiate from the young ninja.

'What the hell happened?' he thought as the blonde charged him, any hesitation or handicap that had been caused by his injuries seemingly vanished, as he moved even faster than he had before, catching even the veteran jounin off guard. The stunned Oto nin didn't even get to flinch, before the bundle of energy connected with a savage jump kick, forcing the jounin's head to snap backwards violently as he was launched into the air. Before he could even lower his head, he felt a sharp elbow connecting with the back of his neck, followed quickly by a knee being rammed into his chest, breaking several ribs with an audible 'snap'. Using the pain, he managed to snap out of his stupor in time to see two blonde gennin kick him in the chest, sending him flying even higher into the path of another blonde, who had what appeared to be a ball of pure chakra held in his outstretched hand. With the speed that he was travelling and the alarming numbness that was spreading after the attack to his neck, the jounin was unable to do anything as the boy nearly half his age drove the incredible attack into his chest, shredding his vest and shirt instantly, before it bored into his flesh like a drill, grinding past his already damaged ribs and pulverising the precious organs that they were supposed to protect, killing him instantly.

Naruto forced himself to look away as the new corpse fell limply to the earth, he had more important things to worry about. And so, resigning himself to thinking about the lives he had just ended later, he dispelled his clones and took off after his friend, praying to anyone that would listen that he wouldn't be too late to help if he needed it.

* * *

Shikamaru and Temari had been frantically trying to catch up to the source of the trench of destruction they had been running through for the past fifteen minutes when they finally caught sight of their target, but it was not under the circumstances that they had been hoping for. Less than twenty meters ahead of them was Gaara, only arms, body and head were completely composed of sand and seemed to be taking the form of a tanunki, even down to the thick tail that extended from his lower back. This, whilst not particularly reassuring, was not what had upset them, that honour went to the form that the demonised teen was crushing against the trunk of a tree, the broken and bloodied form of Sasuke Uchiha.

The unlikely duo almost squealed in joy when they heard the raven haired avenger let out a yelp of pain, not because they were enjoying his suffering (though neither of them could say they _disliked_ it), no it was because that yelp told them a number of things, all of which were sources of relief. Firstly, it told them he was alive, which was their main concern. It also told them some things about his condition, he was still conscious, he could still feel pain, so he wasn't paralysed, and the yelp itself was quite loud and clear, so he his internal injuries weren't serious enough to hinder his breathing...yet.

They were pulled out of their momentary celebration for two reasons; 1, they had _somehow_ended up hugging each other, which was both incredibly inappropriate and bizarrely comfortable. And secondly, Sasuke let out another scream, reminding that while he may be relatively unharmed at the moment, it certainly wouldn't stay that way.

Forming the seals for his family's Kage Nui Jutsu, Shikamaru moulded his shadow into a physical spike before flattening it into a blade and slicing through the sand arm that had been slowly crushing the Uchiha. With its source literally cut off, the sand hand fell loosely to the ground, with Sasuke falling after it, only for his decent to be cut short as he was caught by Temari, who then hurried back to Shikamaru's side, eager to get back to the odd feeling of security that she felt when he was near.

Howling savagely at both the pain of losing an 'arm' and having his fun interrupted, the possessed Gaara frantically searched for the source of his 'wound', eventually coming across the tensed forms of Shikamaru and Temari, who was supporting Sasuke, the battered teen having finally passed out.

"**You! You are the one who stopped our fun in the hospital! Return the Uchiha!" **the demonic voice demanded as his sand arm reformed, leaving it perfectly intact like nothing had happened.

"Sorry, no can do. See, even if he is an arrogant jackass, Sasuke is still one of my comrades, and as such is under my protection. That means that if you want to get to him, you're gonna have to go through me first." Shikamaru declared, his usual lazy drawl replaced by a harsh, serious commander's voice. Temari stared at the enigmatic man. One moment he is the poster boy for laziness and apathy, and then suddenly, he is a powerful, confident warrior that is refusing to back down, even against her demonised brother.

"**Fine, I will!" **with speed unexpected from something of its size, the demonic tanuki leapt at the trio of gennin, swinging its huge sand appendages wildly.

"Temari, take Sasuke and get out of here!" Shikamaru yelled as they all dodged the frantic attacks of the enraged demon.

"Are you nuts? I can't leave you alone with Gaara like this! And even if I could, if I go back to your village like this, they'll kill me!"she replied before leaping off a branch moments before it was shattered by a swing of the sand demon's tail.

Shikamaru fought off the urge to sigh and created a Kage Bunshin. "Take my clone and get out of here, if anyone confronts you, he'll explain everything."

"But-"

"Please Temari. I can't focus if I'm worrying about you two. Just do this for me. I promise that everything will be okay." The Shikamaru clone pleaded as the original lured their out of control opponent away from them with a barrage of shuriken that the sand beast merely shrugged off.

Temari didn't reply but gave the clone a nod before stealing one last glance at her demonised brother and the man that was trying to save them all, before she turned and leapt away, back towards the village that she was supposed to be at war with.

* * *

Shikamaru breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the beautiful wind mistress leave with her cargo and escort. 'Okay, time to get serious.' He thought before focusing his chakra in that oh so familiar way and taking control of his shadow. He had not wanted to show that he no longer needed the seals to utilise his family's techniques as it would generate too many questions, not even his father, hailed as the greatest master in the clan's history could do that, and he had thirty years experience on the young gennin. He had decided before the finals began that he wouldn't reveal the limits, or rather the lack there of, of his abilities, especially in such a public forum. Instead he would only bring out the truly remarkable capabilities when absolutely necessary, like when a fellow jinchuruki lost control and began releasing his demon for example.

Raising the black pool out of the ground and giving it corporeal substance, he formed a shield, not unlike Gaara's own one, and stopped the sand limbs that had been reaching out for him. Only delayed for a moment, Shukaku, who was now in complete control and had formed a miniature, ten foot tall version of his true form, extended his arms around the shield and directly at the strangely calm teen.

Shikamaru, having anticipated this move, had already formed the edges of his barrier into razor sharp blades, and now extended them outwards, effortlessly severing the approaching appendages, leaving only a mildly irritating cloud of sand to drift past on the breeze. Before the wailing demon could reform its amputated limbs, it was enveloped in the barrier, which had covered it like a sheet before sealing off and becoming a solid, airtight sphere.

"Do you like it? I call it the Kagero Jutsu. I got the idea from a technique Naruto's sensei got captured in once, though that technique used water, the concept and effect are the same. You've got, maybe a minute worth of air in their before you start to suffocate." Shikamaru explained, speaking through his connection to the shadow.

"**Foolish human! I am a greater demon! Do you think such a thing concerns me? I am immortal-"**

"Maybe you are, but is your container?" Shikamaru interrupted, silencing the beast instantly. "You may not need to breathe, but the body you're inhabiting does, and I'm willing to bet that when he dies, you're going with him."

The shadow user suppressed the urge to smirk when he felt the demon begin to struggle against its second containment, proving his theory correct.

"Tell you what demon. You give Gaara back control, and I'll end the technique so you two don't have to die. What do you say?" Shikamaru offered, really not wanting to have to kill the boy to stop the demon.

"**Do you really think that this pathetic restraint can hold me? I am the Ichibi no Shukaku, lord of the deserts and master of the winds! You're mortal techniques are nothing against one such as me!" **the demon roared. Shikamaru would have ignored the rant as mere boasting and bolstering, but when the sand on the outside of the ball of shadows began to stir and gather towards the prison, he decided it might not be and prepared himself for what he would do if the demon managed to escape.

Any plans he had been developing were cut short however, when the sphere exploded outwards and Shukaku emerged even larger than before, and growing quickly as he absorbed more and more of the sand and soil off the forest floor.

Even his genius intellect was stalled, when the demon continued to expand and swell until it finally stopped, standing higher and wider than the Hokage tower, the largest building in Konoha. His thoughts were succinctly summarised by Naruto as he arrived on the scene.

"That is a big fucking raccoon." The blonde muttered, getting a nod from Shikamaru before they snapped out of their dumbfounded stares.

"You got anything that can help?" the shadow user asked, saving his relief at his friend's survival for later when they weren't about to die.

"Maybe the chief toad, but I haven't got anywhere near chakra enough left to summon him. How bout you?" the blonde asked, once again momentarily regretting not having the fox anymore.

"I've got something I've been tinkering with, but it'll probably do little more than slow him down. We really need to get Gaara back in control." Shikamaru answered, searching his mind for any ideas.

"Well, when I lost control at the prelims, it was like I was in a dream or something, I only snapped out of it after Ero-sannin smacked me into the wall. So maybe if we can give Gaara a good whack, he'll wake up?"

"It's worth a shot. When I was fighting Shukaku it admitted that Gaara needs air, and I doubt he'd be able to get any if he was inside that thing, so he has to be on the surface somewhere."

"Well if I was a giant raccoon with a weakness like that, I'd wanna keep it somewhere I could keep an eye on it. I'll bet he's on the head, otherwise it'd be too easy to sneak up on him and wake Gaara up."

Shikamaru nodded, agreeing with his friend's logic. "Okay. I'll see if I can distract him, you get up there and wake Gaara up." Naruto nodded and leapt away, dodging the giant sand monster's feet and beginning the long trek up one of its hind legs.

Shikamaru let out a calming sigh and began channelling all the chakra he could muster into the attack he had been experimenting with for weeks. The inspiration had actually come from an anime that he had been watching, not that he would ever admit that to anyone. The main character had created a sphere of energy and then launched it at his opponent, where it essentially exploded in a big flashy show of lights. It had proven more difficult than he had anticipated, but after liberal usage of the Kage Bunshin training method, he had finally gotten it to work.

So, like the character in the cartoon, he extended his arms out to the side, pushing almost all of his chakra into his hands, dimly noting that his hands were covered in a translucent black aura, reflecting the change that had undergone his chakra since the Kyuubi transfer.

FLASHBACK

It was during his first training session after being released from the anbu cell that Shikamaru noticed the change in his chakra. To test how his system had changed, he had been going through each of the jutsu that he knew and came across a somewhat troubling discovery, his chakra had changed. Where before, it would glow the standard, light blue colour, it now was a strangely luminescent black. He also found that, while his new chakra made doing his family's techniques so simple he didn't need the hand seals, it made doing any other techniques impossible, even simple things like the academy jutsu. The only non-Nara jutsu he could still use was the Kage Bunshin, which he assumed must have originated from his clan, or at least be similar enough to their techniques for his black chakra to still work.

FLASHBACK END

Ridding his mind of the distracting memories, he continued to pour his energy into his hands until all that was left, was the bare minimum he needed to stay conscious. Bringing his chakra laden hands together in front of him, with the bottom of the wrists together and the fingers spread out flat and wide, he began to mould the tremendous amount of energy into a ball.

Unlike the attempts he had made during his training with the technique, which generated a tennis ball sized attack, the young shadow wielder had concentrated so much chakra into the technique that he was now holding a glowing sphere of shadows more than a meter in diameter.

Knowing that he would only get one chance with such a costly jutsu, Shikamaru took careful aim, then, finally finished with the preparations, took a deep breath and, using every ounce of control he had, expelled the chakra from his hands, launching the devastating projectile violently from his body and towards its intended target, the underbelly of the gigantic sand demon that towered before him. The recoil created from the launch, propelled the teen backwards, sending him crashing harshly into the trunk of the tree he had been standing on, but the impact on Shukaku was far more destructive.

The orb had sped towards the free demon almost faster than the human eye could follow, and connected directly with the beast's bulging stomach. At first, it seemed as though the comparatively tiny projectile, had done anything to the enormous creature. That had quickly changed however, when the attack detonated.

The already large ball had quickly expanded, till it was roughly the same size as Shukaku's monstrous head, before it exploded violently, emitting a brilliant flash of that peculiar black light before sending a torrent of wind and debris flying in all directions. The only sound that could be heard over the tremendous explosion was the horrific wailing of the gigantic beast, and as the dust cleared, it became apparent why. The attack had not only wiped out a sizable section of forest, but it had all but vapourised three of the Ichibi's legs and much of its body.

"Kage Taihō success. Your turn Naruto." Shikamaru muttered before he passed out from exhaustion.

Chapter End

Kage Nui Jutsu = Shadow Sewing Technique

Kagero Jutsu = Shadow Prison Technique

Kage Taihō = Shadow Cannon (if the description wasn't clear enough, think Vegeta's Final Flash attack from DBZ, only it forms a ball, rather than a beam, and is black)

A/N: Well, that was a bitch to write, so I hope you enjoyed it. You may have noticed that, as per the reviewer requests, I am developing the Shika/Naruto friendship, and I will be continuing to do so as the story continues. Rest assured however, it will remain a Shika/Temari pairing (I'm not sure if Ino will be involved or not at this point, since she was such a bitch in chapter 2). Anyway, please let me know what you think, otherwise I will assume no one cares about this fic and stop posting.

Mr Chunk


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